


Father's Day

by StoneyT456



Category: Legend Series - Marie Lu
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, an epilogue to an epilogue, daniel altan wing - Freeform, daniel needs a hug okay, june iparis - Freeform, no but rebel was so good like man what fan service, rebel, the legend trilogy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:22:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21964267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StoneyT456/pseuds/StoneyT456
Summary: Eden would have to be blind not to notice how hard it is for Daniel to adjust to living in The Republic again, but that doesn't mean that he won't do everything in his power to help his brother.(Basically, an angsty but fluffy one-shot about how Daniel has a hard time living in The Republic again but Eden is a good little brother and June is a good fiance so they look after him.)
Relationships: Eden Wing/Pressa, June Iparis/Daniel "Day" Wing
Comments: 3
Kudos: 50





	Father's Day

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is my first Legend fic so go easy on it! Definite spoilers for Rebel (which was AMAZING) so read at your own risk. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy! Please leave a kudos or comment if you liked it! 
> 
> Thanks!

Eden Wing thought that he had a pretty good understanding of his brother. Well, he thought he did at least until all that stuff with Dominic Hann happened. After that whole experience, he got a new perspective on Daniel, a new perspective on all that he had sacrificed, not only for the people of the Republic and his family but for Eden specifically. 

After Daniel and Eden moved back to The Republic and Daniel proposed to June, their lives seemed to slow down a bit. Considering their normal was staging rebellions in multiple different countries at this point, Eden was happy to just live in the normality of everyday life. Well, as normal as it can get while simultaneously being famous. Before, Daniel had been the only popular one, but after the revolution in Antarctica, Eden was almost just as popular. 

At first, he thought that it would make his internship in The Republic hard, but with Pressa, Daniel, and June by his side, it was a lot easier than he thought it was going to be. In fact, it was a little too easy at some points. Eden found himself with a lot of spare time, and spent most of it out with Daniel. The two of them were busy repairing their relationship, something that the two of them made a silent promise to never let it get as bad as it once was. They spent hours together daily, whether that meant Eden would (attempt) to follow Daniel on some of his runs, Eden would try to explain to Daniel the project he was working on in his internship, or they would just go out to the market or the movies together. 

It was during these trips that Eden started to notice more and more about his brother that he once knew so well. He would notice that whenever Daniel saw a Republic soldier, no matter how long they'd been living in the Republic, there was still a tenseness that overcame him suddenly. He noticed that Daniel would over-react to loud noises, flinching dramatically when fireworks unexpectedly went off or when people were shouting. He noticed that Daniel had nervous ticks when talking to people that weren't him, Tess, or June ticks that were only noticeable to the people who knew him like the three of them did. He noticed how Daniel would sometimes stare out at the city, lost in either thought of the way he used to live or struggling to remember some lost memory. 

He knew living in The Republic would be hard on his brother, he just didn't know it would be this hard. Sometimes, he felt guilty, making Daniel come back to the place of his literal nightmares. But other times, when he saw the way Daniel lights up when he sees June, he knows beyond a doubt that this is where Daniel would choose to be, no matter how it was affecting his mental health. 

But sometimes, when Daniel doesn't sleep for days because of reoccurring nightmares or when he comes home stunned and shaking from just going to the market that Eden has to wonder if it is healthy for Daniel to be here at all. 

One day, he brings it up with June. Or rather, she brings it up with him. 

Eden had just finished his lunch break when she walked up to him, her usual smile a little strained. 

"Hey!" She waves, giving Eden a quick hug. Eden notices the way her ring reflects in the light and can't help the smile that comes to his lips. 

"What's up?" He asks looking at her. It wasn't unusual to see June walking around, they worked near each other after all, but June was out of uniform and seemed like she was here specifically to see him. 

She does something that Eden has never seen her do before. She wrings her hands together in a nervous gesture, an emotion that he has only seen on her once or twice before. Both times they had something to do with Daniel, so Eden had a feeling that's what, or rather, who this surprise visit was about. "Is everything okay?" Eden asks, concern in his voice. 

She seems to realize his immediate thoughts. "Yeah!" She says too enthusiastically. "Well, not really. Maybe? I don't know. Do you have a second?" 

In all the times he has known June, she has never looked as vulnerable as she does at this moment. Realistically, he doesn't have any time at all, he's already running over as they're standing there, but he gestures to a booth and sits down across from her in the cafeteria of the place where he was interning.

"What's going on, June?" He asks. 

She manages to look anywhere but him. "I'm conflicted." She simply states. 

Eden takes in a breath. "Look if you're having second doubts about the wedding you really need to talk to Daniel because he's-" 

She stops him. "God no, I wouldn't dream of it. Trust me, I'm marrying your brother." 

The smile goes back to Eden's face. "Then what's there to be conflicted about?" 

"Is Daniel... happy here?" She askes suddenly, surprising Eden. 

"What do you mean?" 

"I mean," she hesitates, "I notice how this place affects him. I know you've seen it too. The tremors, the anxiety, the nightmares." She pauses. "Eden I..." She stops, pulling in a breath. "I've always been good at this yeah? Moving on I guess. I mean, with Metias, I miss him every day, but I live each day in his memory. The Republic is my home. While I've had some pretty crappy times here, a majority of them have been fantastic. I met Daniel here, I grew up with Metias, you know? But Daniel... I just lost my brother here. Daniel lost his dad, his mom, John, Kaede." 

Eden flinches as she lists the people Daniel's lost, because except for Kaede, Eden lost all of them too. June doesn't notice. 

"He was shot, tortured, nearly executed, underwent the roughest parts of his illness, all here. It's affecting him. I can see it. I can see the way he acts." 

She's silent for a moment as if thinking. "I don't understand why he stays here." She said finally looking at Eden. 

"I know why." He says. 

She looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. 

"You." 

June scoffs. "Me?" 

"June, there are three people that Day cares about in this world. Three people that he would do anything for. You, me, and Tess. Daniel loves you more than anything in the world. All of that pain, all of those memories, he can't let them go. But he lives through that hell every day because we're here... _you're_ here." 

June looks at him, a deep understanding across her face. "That's exactly my point, Eden. Daniel is the love of my life too. I just can't help but feel so... selfish by keeping him here. I'm thinking about moving somewhere else, somewhere he doesn't have the constant reminder of all that he lost."

Eden leans across the table looking at June. "Look, Daniel knows you, right? Even if he acts like he isn't, he's pretty good at reading people. If you decided to up and leave your home, he would know that he was the reason why and he would hate himself for it."

She looked defeated. "Then what do I do? How do I protect him?" 

"Just be there for him. When he has nightmares, be there to comfort him, to let him know that he is here with you. You just being around him is the best cure for him." 

"Are you sure?" 

"I hope so." 

It had been about three months since their conversation. Eden noticed some differences in his brother's behavior, noticed that it was getting better for him, noticed that the nightmares had mostly stopped. 

It had gotten to the point when he had almost forgotten the reality of not only Daniel's nightmares but his own as well. Ever since he got back to The Republic with Pressa, Daniel, June, and Tess beside him, his nightmares had altogether stopped. Eden figured he and his brother had finally moved on from their past, with Eden moving forward with his work and with Pressa, and Daniel busy with work and wedding planning. 

It was about seven months after the move when Eden realized that no matter how far the two of them ran, their past was bound to catch up with them sooner or later. It started out innocent enough, Eden had simply gone to the kitchen to get a drink of water after video calling with Pressa until the early hours of the morning. She had gone back to Antarctica to visit an aunt or cousin or some other family member and even though it was a short trip, the distance between them was driving Eden up the wall. 

When Eden walked out, he jumped seeing Daniel's outline on their balcony. The apartment the two (soon to be three) of them shared was, by Daniel's request, one of the highest in the city, allowing him plenty of ledge space to look out over the city. Sometimes Eden remembers the towers in the water Daniel had taken him to months before, about how he and Tess used to dream of living there. 

Eden quietly turned the nob to the patio, silently closing it behind him. He noticed that Daniel uncharacteristically didn't even notice. Eden crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. For a while, Eden stayed there, watching his brother. 

Daniel was perched on the railing, his leg dangling over the edge. His face was completely and totally blank and Eden suddenly found himself nervous about Daniel being so close to the ledge of the building. He took a closer look at Daniel's face and saw the tear tracks that had run down his face, now dry. 

Eden finally spoke. "Daniel, you okay?" He asked gently, seeing Daniel flinch. 

Daniel didn't even turn to face him. "Yeah, E. I'm good." Daniel's voice was rough and raw and Eden knew he was full of shit. 

"Talk to me, man," Eden said pleadingly. "Weren't you the one who told me that I didn't have to do any of this alone? Well, you don't either." 

Daniel stayed silent, although there seemed to be a lighter tone to his face. 

Eden was persistent. "I can call June." 

Daniel shook his head and sighed. He turned himself around on the ledge, now sitting facing Eden with his feet touching the floor of the patio, his back to the edge. Eden let out a breath, knowing that Daniel had a much better balance this way. "That won't be necessary," Daniel said. He broke out in a small smile. "She'd kick my ass for this." 

"Sitting on a very high ledge in the middle of the night while you're obviously not in peak condition or trying to battle your issues alone?" 

Daniel gave him a small chuckle. "Both." 

"Figures, I'm about to do the same." Eden moved so that way he was next to Daniel, the two of them standing shoulder to shoulder, looking at their reflections in the glass door in front of them. 

"I could definitely take you." 

Eden raised his eyebrow. "I would bet against it. You look like crap." 

"You always know how to make me feel all warm and cuddly inside, Eden." 

The two fell into a comfortable silence before Eden looked at him, the two meeting eye to eye. "No, seriously. What's wrong?" 

Daniel let out a deep and weary sigh, crossing his arms like Eden had done when he first walked out. "Just had a bad night, that's all." 

"Bad as in what?" 

"Nightmare." 

"About?" 

"My past." 

Getting information out of Daniel was like pulling teeth. "What specifically?" Eden asked. 

Daniel turned to him, moving his hands to his face and running them across it. "Do you know what today is?" 

Eden looked at him, confused. "Wednesday?" 

Daniel gave him a sad smile. "Yes. And it's the same day of my trial all those years ago." 

Eden turned to him. "Shit." He said suddenly. "Daniel, I'm so sorry I forgot all about it with Pressa being gone and-" 

Daniel stopped him. "Eden it's okay. You're not supposed to have the date remembered. I know I try to forget it every year it's just... this is the first time since we've been back that I was really thinking about it you know? All those kids. Christ, I almost became one of them. All those bodies, all dead. And sometimes I just... sometimes I remember what happened to them and what almost happened to me and it's like I can't even breathe." 

"Daniel, I'm so sorry." 

"You've got nothing to apologize for, E." 

"I should have remembered." 

"And done what? Baked me a cake that said 'congrats for not dying'?" 

"I could have been there for you today. Made sure you were okay." 

Daniel placed his arm on Eden's shoulder. "The best thing for me is to just pretend that it's an ordinary day, sometimes it makes it easier to forget. Normally it's not a big deal. Over the years I've either been starving on the streets or staging a revolution, too busy to think about it but this year... I had the entire day off to think about it." 

A thought popped up in Eden's head. "Does June know?" 

"No." Daniel admits. "But I suspect she knew something was off." 

"She always does." 

Daniel hummed. Eden turned to look at him again. "Daniel, are you sure you're okay?" 

Daniel looked down, all of his usual confidence and swagger gone. "I just..." Eden could hear the tears in his voice. For a second, he was stunned silent. He could count on one hand the number of times he'd actually seen his brother cry and most of them were out of pain. Eden did the first thing that came to his head and enveloped Daniel in a hug, holding onto him tight and whispering to him that it was okay, to let it out. 

And Daniel did. It seemed that he had been holding in all of his memories, trying to deal with it all himself. "Why didn't you tell me?" Eden whispered. He didn't even realize he said it out loud until Daniel answered him.

"I didn't want you to worry." He choked out. "I'm your big brother, I'm supposed to be strong for you." 

Eden pulled back from Daniel and grabbed his face in his hands. "You hold yourself to these impossible standards, Daniel. But you don't need to. June, Tess, and I, we're here for you. We love you and care about you. You hurt us more when you don't tell us these things. We want to help you. Let us help you." 

Daniel just nodded at him, and although Eden wanted to push it, he knew that all Daniel needed right then was for him to keep hugging him. Eventually, Eden got Daniel to calm down and try to go back to bed. As soon as he did, Eden called June, letting her know not only of what happened but also so that she could secretly mark the date down for next year. Daniel woke up the next morning with a pounding headache and besides a silent "thanks" to Eden, the two never talked of the moment they shared on the balcony again. 

But Eden thought about it a lot. When times were slow in his internship, his thought either turned to Pressa, or they turned to Daniel. Eden was both worried and trying to think of something he could do for his older brother. Something to show his appreciation. Eden knew Daniel wouldn't expect it and would tell him it was just part of his job, but Eden finally understood the sacrifices Daniel had made. 

And while an entire country worshipped him because of them, Eden never even realized the consequences they had on his brother until recently. That's why, when he saw what day was approaching in June, he knew he had to do something. 

He got Eden, Pressa, Tess, and even June behind it, all three of them loving the idea. 

On that particular Sunday, Daniel was exhausted. He and June had been at an event for Anden until early in the morning, the two of them acting at The Republic's show monkeys to get other countries to donate towards Anden's rebuilding fund. Daniel messaged Eden, letting him know that he was just going to crash at June's. Eden grinned, knowing that this was all apart of their plan. 

As soon as the clock struck five am on that Sunday, Tess and Pressa arrived at Eden and Daniel's apartment, Eden eagerly letting them in. The three went to work immediately, Pressa and Eden baking while Tess put up decorations. 

At nine, June messaged them, letting them all know that she was heading their way to drop of Daniel. Eden knew that Daniel had no idea what he was about to walk into, no idea that they had planned this for him. 

Eden was proven correct when Daniel and June walked into the apartment, June, Eden, Tess, and Pressa all yelling "Surprise!" as Daniel looked really, really confused. 

"Uh..." He began. "Todays not my birthday." He said looking at June. 

"We know," Tess said coming up to him. She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. 

"But it is Father's Day." 

Daniel frowned. "But I'm not a dad." 

Eden grinned at him. "Technically, you are." 

"I mean you practically raised me," Tess said giving him a grin. "And short stop over there." She said gesturing to Eden.

Daniel's face beamed red and the four of them laughed at him. He turned to June. "You knew about this?" 

June grinned a devilish grin. "I mean... you may not be my dad but you are my daddy." 

Eden, Tess, and Pressa all immediately let out the biggest "Ew!" Of all time, Eden adding in "Please don't ever say that about my brother." 

Daniel couldn't help but laugh as he flashed even redder. He then took in all the decorations. "You guys did all this for me?" 

Eden smiled at him. "Yeah. Look, I know our actual dad isn't here but honestly, I don't remember anything about him. What I do remember? You always being there for me, always helping me, always protecting me. You and John were the only dads I ever had." 

Daniel gave him the biggest grin he could muster and opened his arms to him. "Come here." He said softly, pulling Eden into his arms, much like that night out at the balcony. 

"Thank you." Daniel whispered in his ear, kissing the top of his head. 

Eden stepped back and Pressa tapped him on the shoulder, pointing at the table.

"Oh! We made food! Lots of food!" Eden added. 

Tess smiled. "Thank God, I've been waiting to eat for hours." She turned to Daniel. "Happy Father's Day, D." 

Daniel smiled at her, pulling her in and kissing the top of her head, identical to what he did to Eden. 

Later on at the party, when all the cards and gifts had been given, June pulled Eden aside while Tess was entertaining Tess and Daniel with a rather dramatic story of their time on the streets together. 

"Thank you for this Eden... I can tell that it means the world to him." June said. 

Eden and her both looked over when they heard him laugh a hard and happy laugh, something the two of them had not heard in a while. "Thanks for keeping him last night." 

June grinned at him. "Trust me, that was no problem." 

Eden made a disgusted face at her. "He's my brother, June." 

June shrugged. "He's my fiance." 

Eden's expression softened and June gave him a meek smile. "He's okay right?" June asked. 

Eden and her turned to him again, a wide smile on his face. He looked for the first time in a while, as if he didn't have a care in the world. Eden put his arm around June's shoulders. "With us looking after him? He'll be great." 

The End


End file.
